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Olympian spirits (or ''Olympic spirits'', ''Olympick spirits'') refers to seven spirits mentioned in several Renaissance and post-Renaissance books of
ritual magic Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitione ...
/
ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of Magic (supernatural), magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories t ...
, such as the ''
Arbatel de magia veterum The ''Arbatel De Magia Veterum'' () is a Latin grimoire of Renaissance ceremonial magic published in 1575 in Switzerland.Arbatel De magia veterum (Arbatel: Of the Magic of the Ancients), Anonymous, ed. Joseph Peterson; 1997. Available online aEs ...
'', '' The Secret Grimoire of Turiel'' and ''The Complete Book of Magic Science''. The '' Arbatel of Magick'' says of the Olympian spirits: "They are called Olympick spirits, which do inhabit in the firmament, and in the stars of the firmament: and the office of these spirits is to declare Destinies, and to administer fatal Charms, so far forth as God pleaseth to permit them." In this magic system, the universe is divided into 196 provinces (a number which in
numerology Numerology (known before the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, ...
adds up to 7: 1+9+6=16; 1+6=7) with each of the seven Olympian spirits ruling a set number of provinces. Aratron rules the most provinces (49), while each succeeding Olympian rules seven fewer than the former, down to Phul who rules seven provinces. Each of the Olympic spirits rules alternately for 490 years. Each Olympian spirit is also associated with one of the seven luminaries which figure in ancient and medieval Western magic.


The seven Olympian spirits

#Aratron (or ''Arathron''), "the
alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
who commanded seventeen million six hundred and forty thousand spirits". He rules 49 provinces. His planet is
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
. # Bethor, "who commanded twenty-nine thousand legions of spirits". He rules 42 provinces. His planet is
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
. # Phaleg (or ''Phalec'', ''Pharos''), "the War-Lord". His planet is
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
. He rules 35 provinces. # Och, "the alchemist,
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
, and magician". He rules 28 provinces. His "planet" is
the Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
. # Hagith, "transmuter of metals, and commander of four thousand legions of spirits". He rules 21 provinces. His planet is
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
. # Ophiel, "who commanded one hundred thousand legions of spirits". He rules 14 provinces. His planet is Mercury. # Phul, "lord of the powers of the moon and supreme lord of the waters". He rules 7 provinces. His "planet" is
the Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It orbits around Earth at an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth's diameter). The Moon rotates, with a rotation period ( lunar day) that is synchronized to its orbital period ( lunar ...
.


The seven archangels and the seven Olympian spirits

In ritual magic, the seven Olympian spirits are not confused with the seven traditional
archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...
s, which usually are
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
(usually the Sun),
Anael Haniel (, ''Ḥannīʾēl'', "God is my grace"; ''Ananiēl''; , '), also known as Hananel, Anael, Hanael or Aniel, is an angel in Jewish lore and angelology, and he is often included in lists as being one of the seven archangels. Haniel is gen ...
(Venus),
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
(usually Mercury),
Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...
(the Moon),
Cassiel Cassiel ( ''Qaṣpīʾēl'', "God is my wrath")—also known as Kassiel, Qassiel, and other phonetic variations—is an angel appearing in extracanonical Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mystical and magical works, often as one of the Seven Archan ...
(Saturn),
Samael Samael (; , ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom of God"; , ''Samsama'il'' or , ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic tradition; a figure who is the accuser or adversary (Satan#Judaism, Satan ...
(Mars) and
Zadkiel Zadkiel ( , 'God is my Righteousness'), also known as Hasdiel, is an archangel in Jewish and Christian angelology. Abraham sacrifice As an angel of mercy, some texts claim that Zadkiel is the unnamed biblical Angel of the Lord who holds ba ...
(Jupiter), or a variation thereof. The seven Olympian spirits are often evoked in conjunction with the seven classic archangels, and magic seals often associate one of the classic seven with one of the Olympian spirits. For example, a magic seal from Frederick Hockley's ''The Complete Book of Magic Science'' shows the form of a seal which binds a spirit of Jupiter, ''Pabiel'', to the magician: Pabiel's name appears in a band stretched between two circles: the circle on the left bearing the name and
sigil A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term usually refers to a pictorial signature of a spirit (such as an angel, demon, or deity). In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, a sigil refers to a symbolic represen ...
of Bethor, the circle on the right bearing the name and sigil of
Sachiel In kabbalistic and Christian angelology, Sachiel (Ge'ez ሳቁኤል) is an archangel of the order of cherubim. The name 'Sachiel' originally occurs in the late 1500s grimoire called ''The Heptameron''. Name In the early mentions of that ange ...
(equivalent to Zadkiel).


See also

*
Hierarchy of angels In the angelology of different religions, a hierarchy of angels is a ranking system of angels. The higher ranking angels have greater power and authority than lower ones, and different ranks have differences in appearance, such as varying num ...
*
Seven Archangels The concept of Seven Archangels is found in some works of early Jewish literature and in Christianity. In those texts, they are referenced as the angels who serve God directly. The Catholic Church venerates seven archangels: in Latin Christian ...
*
Twelve Olympians file:Greek - Procession of Twelve Gods and Goddesses - Walters 2340.jpg, upright=1.8, Fragment of a Hellenistic relief sculpture, relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from ...


References


Further reading

* * * {{cite book , author-link=Manly Palmer Hall , last=Hall , first=Manly Palmer , title=The Secret Teachings of All Ages , orig-year=1928 , edition=Diamond Jubilee , year=1988 , pages=103-104 Magic (supernatural)